Former WWE superstar Batista has been added to the upcoming Marvel Studios movie “Guardians of the Galaxy.” The movie is about a team of superheroes in outer space, fighting to protect the entire galaxy from evil. Batista will play a character called Drax the Destroyer, a tragic character who was killed alongside his wife and daughter by the evil Thanos (the bad guy from the end of “The Avengers”). He then finds himself resurrected in a super-powered green skinned warrior and tasked with killing Thanos.
With Batista’s big movie career continuing to build steam, here is a look at some other big time wrestlers to make a successful leap into Hollywood.
Dwayne Johnson
Of course, the biggest name to ever step out of the WWE and into Hollywood has been Dwayne Johnson, who wrestled under the name The Rock. Johnson started his movie career with a key role in the “Mummy” series as the Scorpion King, but then moved into the more general role for wrestlers, the action hero. His movies, “The Rundown” specifically, were great fun, but it showed little room for growth. However, Johnson took on family roles (“The Game Plan”) and quirky indie roles (“Southland Tales”), and soon found himself building respect. Now, he is a big name in tent pole movies like “Fast 5” and “G.I. Joe: Retaliation”).
Jesse “The Body” Ventura
His roles in movies did not last very long, but he remained very memorable in his roles. The former WWE wrestler and commentator co-starred in Arnold Schwarzenegger movies such as “Predator” and “The Running Man” and was a highlight in both. However, his movie career was cut short when he did exactly what Schwarzenegger did. Ventura became the Governor of Minnesota, moving from the WWE to Hollywood to politics without missing a beat.
Rowdy Roddy Piper
Rowdy Roddy Piper has been in more bad movies than good, with titles like “Hell Comes to Frog Town” in his back catalog. However, he gets put on lists like this for one reason: “They Live.” The movie is a cult classic, one of John Carpenter’s finest movies, which is saying a lot. The film is about an alien invasion that already happened under the human’s noses, and the aliens have started to take over. The only way to see them is with special sun glasses, which Piper gets his hands on. The movie is a masterpiece of cult cinema and cemented Piper’s place as an icon.
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